Improved amalgamator



H. P. RUSS.

Amaigamator.

Patented March 22, 1859.

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7455 7055565 aim/t W %W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HORACE r. RUSS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, "CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVED AMALGAMATO R.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 23,3 l 3, dated March 22, 1859.

To [LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HoRAon P. Russ, of the city and county of San Francisco, and State of California, have invented and made and applied to use certain new and useful improvements in means for saving or amalgamating precious metals, which I term Rnsss Amalgamating-Gones, and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction, form, and application of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, whcrein Figure l is an end view of my amalgamating; cones. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cups or cones, and Fig. 3 is a plan of a sluice with the amalgamating-cones inserted ready for use.

In the'successful use of the straight sluice it is necessary that its longitudinal descent should be gradual from the place of its beginning to the discharge, and that its bed or base board should present a perfecthorizontal level, in order that while the descending stream is void of concussion by the absence of irregularities the level base should receive the stream equally distributed over its surface. To effect this result by the present mode is almost impracticable. The sluiccs are made of wood, which, being constantly exposed to the elements, are warped into irregular curves or lines, varying with their change, the course of the stream passing through or over them. This error was opposedby the introduction of cast-iron sluiccs, but their use was in practice but for a short time, for as it is necessary for the miner to raise his sluiccs for the purpose of cleaning up once in about every six days, it was found so very expensive to handle such heavy sluice-boxes that they were abandoned and are not now, to my knowledge, in use.

The nature of my said invention is to avoid the necessity of removing the cast-iron or other metallic and durable sluice-boxes by the introduction of movable cups or cones of castiron, wood, 810., or of copper lined with an amalgamation of quicksilver, as shown in Fi 2, into holes cast or drilled into the bed of said sluice-boxes, with a beveled line corresponding to the decreasing line of the cone.

I am aware that plain sheets of copper gal vanized or covered with quicksilver, forming a bright coat of amalgam between the two metals,has been used, and are occasionally now used in the bottoms of sluiccs for the purpose of catching or saving fine gold, but the plan is defective for the following reason: The plate of copper rests upon an inclined plane, and as the gold is collected upon its surface in the form of amalgam the heavy stream of water, aided by the great friction of the sand, ore, or gravel, drives the particles of amalgam into globules, which, attaining a certain size, present an impeding surface to the rush of the stream, and are eventually carried away beyond the reach of the miner. \Vith the movable cups or cones such accident or effect cannot take place, the particles of gold are arrest ed on the inclines of the interior, and whenever the globules attain sufficient gravity they fall into the body of quicksilver, (which is placed in the base of each cone,) and are thus held in security.

By the use of movable cups or cones for amalgamation in sluiccs or other apparatus used in mining for the precious metals many valuable advantages are obtained. Theline of sluiccs may be formed of cast-iron or other durable material, and become fixed in perma nent and properline and last for many years, avoiding thereby the great expense to which the miner is at present subjected by the constant renewal of his wooden sluiccs, which are worn away by the friction of the sand and gravel in a very short time.

By the use of the aforesaid movable cups or cones for amalgamation the labor of cleaning up or gathering the amalgam can be performed at the leisure of the miner without stopping the operations of his sluiccs, and at night the cups or cones can be removed with facility to a place of security.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is i Portable or movable cups or cones of co per galvanized or amalgamated with quick silver inside, or manufactured of other mate rials-snch as wood, cast iron, &c.to be placed in holes in sluiceboxes or other apparatus used in mining for the precious metals, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my signature this 4th day of December, 1858.

HORACE P. Russ. [n s.]

Witnesses:

EDWN. L. THERP, T. W. TALIOFERRO. 

